41st Century Digital Boy
by Jekkal
Summary: The adventures of a five year old Ratchet and his parents. Some people really are just born heroes . . .
1. Abba and Eema

Ratchet ran through his home once, twice, three times to be sure. He'd hear about it from Abba soon enough about getting his _baji _all scuffled with dust from so much dashing about, but he wouldn't be able to blame for boy for panicking so much.

The little (even for a Lombax) boy stopped at a nearby doorway, looking back in the room to see an idle computer and a half-packed suitcase of clothes. Ratchet had no clue how he was supposed to carry all that once he arrived at the boarding school. He looked at it for a few moments, still in awe at the size of it compared to him.

A few moments later, he found himself picked up from behind. "Surprised a little piece of work like you needs so many clothes?"

"Abba!" Ratchet spoke up, turning around to see a slightly mottled, older Lombax looking down at him. It took another moment before Ratchet gave his father a quick hug. "You're sure they have to take me?"

'Abba' chuckled, ruffling Ratchet's blonde hair. "You're going to school, Ratchik. Unless you do something stupid, yes, they'll be taking you there in a few days."

"Then I want to do something stupid!" Ratchet shot back.

"_Besheket_!" His father growled in mock-disappointment, before smiling and running a hand though his son's hair again. "You're a smart boy. You like the lessons I teach you; I know you're a smart kid. You already know fractions from helping me with Eema's medication. You know a little physics from helping me catch the hens. And I know you understand computers because I caught you no less than two nights ago reading that red blog!"

"I wouldn't have wanted to see the red page if it wasn't blocked!" Ratchet protested. "No wonder it is, though. Those ladies looked like they weren't enjoying it."

The elder Lombax chuckled. "Well, don't try to show that trick to your friends at school, okay? Some people don't like it."

"Okay, Abba."

"Now, is there anything you want me to pack into your bags special for you, or are you just running around to scuff up your nice _baji_?"

"There's a lady who left a letter on the front door . . ." Ratchet started, before he found himself lifted up onto his father's shoulders. The two sprinted over to the front door, where Ratchet pointed to the notice on the front door. "She said she takes people all the time . . ."

Ratchet held on tight as his father lurched, ripping the note off the door. "Court Order for . . . oh, for . . . " he read the note again, this time with a snarl on his face. "LOVELACE!"

Ratchet blinked, covering his ears. A few seconds packed with no response before he started shouting out as well. "EEMA!"

Sure enough, a voice quickly pierced back, as if by instinct. "Ratchik?"

"Eema!" Ratchet cried out again, and his father shook his head as he walked along, crumpled note in hand, following the cries of attention in a twisted game of Marco Polo.

Soon enough, they were standing in front of a small guest house in the corner of his family's land, and Ratchet jumped to the ground to dart for the door. His father knocked on it, and soon enough, it opened.

Ratchet looked up at the grey-furred female, her bright blonde hair hiding most of her face. Her clothes, while once having been good quality, now looked lightly soiled and dusty, as though she'd slept in them for a few days at a time; Her hair was clean but loose, and Ratchet could only see her eyes when he pushed the hair out of their way.

"Lovelace." His father hissed, looking over at her.

She turned her head to him like she was glaring. "What is it, Clockwork?"

"They're coming for you again . . ." Clockwork hissed, handing her the letter. "I'm not standing for this; I've got enough work to do as is getting Ratchet ready for boarding, and once he's off for the year, you . . ."

Ratchet's ears perked up as he heard a soft mewling, in one of the other rooms, along with the dancing glow of light that he recognized as the reflections of a display screen, followed by a woman's voice. " . . .You don't want to make this worse, do you?"

Clockwork's ears caught it as well, because his eyes narrowed immediately. "Not again . . . and don't you dare try to stop me!"

Clockwork immediately sauntered inside the small house. Ratchet's eyes went wide, and he tried to run in ahead of him, but Lovelace's hands were right there to catch little Ratchet. "You don't want in there."

"But Abba's looking!" Ratchet protested, kicking. "Let me go!"

"You don't want in there. It's ugly, it's violent and it's not good for you."

Ratchet squirmed more, pawing against her chest for leverage. "But I wanna see!"

This time, Clockwork's voice responded in turn. "No, you don't!"

His father stormed back to the duo, holding a shiny, encased disc in one hand. He glared at Lovelace, before looking down at Ratchet. "Ratchik, would you please go check on the hens for me? Make sure to check them all for fleas."

Ratchet looked confused. "But what do the hens have to do with-?"

"Ratchik, now." Clockwork hissed, no longer in a friendly tone.

Ratchet's eyes went wide, and he ran out the door, briefly bolting to make it sound like he was running away from the house, before he slowly crept back towards it, ears perked high in curiosity. Ratchet moved in as close as he could, sidled up against the outer walls.

" . . . I've had enough of all this! I'm sick of you wallowing in your past! I'm sick of finding you all up against the walls, I'm sick of seeing you fiddle with handcuffs like they were worry beads . . . I'm not standing for it!" He heard his father hiss, anger evident in his voice.

"I'm coping, damn it. The doctors said masking the pain wasn't good for me."

"Watching those damned discs isn't coping! It's filth!" Clockwork growled. "Don't make me have to think of you like that, you hear me? I want you to be the Lovelace I remember!"

Lovelace scoffed. "I'm taking care of myself. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"NO! I want more!" He growled, and soon Ratchet heard the sound of something being shoved up against a wall. "I want you to actually take care of your goddamn son rather than making me teach him how to take care of _you_!"

He heard his mother growling. "I can take care of myself!"

"Where's your medication?"

"I've not been taking it. I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Clockwork growled. "If you were, we wouldn't be out in the middle of nowhere dealing with your goddamn guilt complex! Look, if you're not going to take your medication, then we need to do damage control. Where's your medallion?"

"I hid it." She hissed, grit in her voice. " I don't care if you think something's wrong with me, but I'm not giving it up without a fight."

"Is that a threat or an invitation?" Clockwork remarked. "I don't want to hurt you . . . but damn it, either you hand it over or they'll make you hand it over when they get you thrown in the asylum!"

"I'm not going anywhere and you're not taking my medallion anywhere either!"

There was a pause, and then next thing Ratchet knew, the door flew open with a bang as a tumble of fur flew out of it. His father already had his arms wrapped around his mother's, trying to pin her down to the ground, while his mother's legs were braced against the ground for leverage as she went for his ears, and then spun around to catch Clockwork roughly in a full nelson, slamming him down into the nearby dirt, holding him there.

Ratchet quickly bolted, deciding that right now, checking the hens for fleas didn't sound like such a bad idea.

* * *

"Ratchik?" 

He'd heard the knocking on his door, but didn't answer. He was currently hiding under a thick woolen blanket, trying to get his head clear. It'd be a few more days and then he'd be off to boarding school, and he wouldn't have to worry about this stuff for a good, long while. Maybe by the time he came back for holidays she'd be off to spend time in the doctors' place again; he didn't know much about it, but she seemed to be much better whenever she came back from there.

This time, the door opened; Lovelace was standing in the door frame, now much cleaner; it looked like she'd put on some new clothes and showered, judging by how tight her hair was tied up now. "Mind if I come in?"

"Taken your medicine, Eema?" Ratchet remarked, causing Lovelace to frown, but the older Lombax sighed and let the frown fall away fast enough.

She walked a little closer to him, where he had lain down on the bed. "It's okay. See? I'm normal."

"Until you're off to the little house again." Ratchet mumbled, causing Lovelace to shudder.

She sat down next to him, placing a hand on his back. "I . . . I know I've let my problems get the better of me . . . but that's no reason to let you down."

Ratchet sat up. "But I'll be leaving for school soon . . . then you won't have to worry, right?"

"I'll always worry, baby. But you . . . you'll be all right." She smiled, putting her hand under his chin to get him to look up at her. "Listen, tomorrow we're going to go into town and get you the last supplies you need before you go. Once we do that . . . it'll just be you and me, okay? We'll get to spend time in the park together, and down by the waterfront . . . I'll even get you some of that rock candy you like." She smirked, looking back down at her little Ratchet. She could only hope that he was still young enough for this sort of thing to work.

"I don't know . . ." Ratchet remarked, obviously tempted but still nervous.

"Come on, it'll be fun! I just have one little errand to run in the morning, and then we'll have the rest of the day to ourselves." She smirked, picking him up to hold him close against her. "Please?"

"Well . . ." Ratchet spoke, looking up at her. "Promise?"

"I promise." Lovelace purred, kissing his forehead before tucking him in. "Sleep well, Ratchik."

The little Lombax nodded, then rolled over to fall asleep. It took a few minutes for Lovelace to leave, most notably to walk over to where Ratchet had set aside a variety of toys, with little wooden figures of robots, humans, Blargians . . . a veritable Noah and Noel's ark of characters.

In one little wooden ship, she gripped the top gingerly, before pushing down and sliding it to one side, revealing a hidden compartment. She opened it up wider to let a small circular talisman roll out; a simple medallion, trimmed in gold with a star-shaped ruby gem visible from the front. It was easily more valuable than perhaps the house itself, and here she was, hiding it in a simple child's toy . . .

She quickly slipped it around her neck and under her shirt, tucking it away for safekeeping. No, it wasn't ironic. Ratchet had kept her from going off the deep end well before now; sure, taking care of a child had always taxed many a mother's patience, but for her, it was just the thing she needed right after . . . well, thinking about the trauma itself wasn't important right now. But raising him kept her sane, at least until Clockwork started getting more involved and she slowly found herself less useful, and with more time to dwell on the past . . . which was why she'd degraded as far as she'd already gone. Dealing with how to handle herself once Ratchet left for school would only try her patience more.

Maybe it was a sign that it was time to get back to doing what she did best. After all, son saves mother, mother saves planet . . . perfectly natural in the scheme of things, right?

She left her son's room, walking out to see Clockwork in the hallway, wearing a loose robe. "Bit long for a goodnight, wasn't it?"

"I'm just doing like you said; you want me to take care of Ratchet, and tomorrow I'm going to do just that." Lovelace smirked, walking past her husband. "And in the meantime I'm going to work on a few other 'duties' of mine that I've been neglecting . . ."

Clockwork's eyes lit up, before he blinked. "Hold on . . . what about that court order? We can't just ignore it."

"Leave that to me . . ." Lovelace moved in close enough for Clockwork to feel the chill of the medallion against his back. "You didn't marry a Solana Scout for nothing, now did you?"


	2. Ratchet's New Friend

"This is the best day EVER!"

Lovelace smirked as she walked Ratchet around by the hand. They'd already picked up Ratchet's uniforms and books, and Ratchet himself now had a wand of crystalline blue rock candy that he was waving around like a baton. True to her word, the two of them now had the rest of the day to themselves, and hell or high water, she was about to give it to him.

She picked her son up, hefting him onto her shoulders. "Okay, Ratchik; where would you like to go? There's the park, or the shops out at the crag, or the waterfront . . ."

Ratchet thought for a moment, but then his eyes lit up. "Captain Hook's Boardwalk!"

Ratchet grabbed onto his Eema's ears for stability as she froze in her tracks. A moment passed before she regained her composure. "There's that great ice cream shop next to the boardwalk. Why don't we go there instead?"

"I want to go to Captain Hook's Boardwalk!" Ratchet peeped up again, a little louder this time. "You said we could!"

"When did I say that?"

"You said it last night! You said we'd have fun today!" Ratchet spoke up, before adding on, "I want to see it before I go off to school!"

Lovelace winced. "I'm sure it'll still be here when you get back . . ."

Ratchet grabbed a fistful of her hair, prompting Lovelace to wince. "But that could be YEARS! I'll be almost your age by then!"

"Not -ow!- quite _that _old . . ." She spoke, before picking Ratchet back up again. "Now listen here; if you can convince your father to take you there, then by all means . . . look, those eyes don't work on me . . ."

"B-but I don't get to come here that often . . ." Ratchet spoke, mewling. "I want to see the Boardwalk!"

"Look, I just don't . . ." Lovelace tried again, but before she could finish speaking, she finally caved in to Ratchet's baleful green eyes. "Well, then . . . Let's take my little captain aboard! Sails to the wind!"

"YAY!" Ratchet spoke up again, holding his rock candy out as Lovelace carried him through the town square, not even noticing the odd looks a few of the other adults were giving his mother.

* * *

Ratchet's eyes were lit up wide as he gawked at the long pier and the rides that seemed to snake around and under it. This place was HUGE, and it only seemed to get bigger as he went inside with his mother. 

"Look!" Ratchet spoke up, noticing the tubes of fish that were swimming along and through some of the vendor's booths. "I didn't realize they made water that color! It's almost glowing!"

"That's because they're using black light to make them glow." Lovelace spoke, smiling just a bit.

The little Lombax blinked, then looked confused. "How can light be black? Black stuff is dark, not light!"

She snickered, then smiled down at him. "You're going to learn so much when you go to school . . ."

Ratchet's eyes remained wide as they walked through the crowds, just taking in the astounding sights, and even getting a little distracted as a roller coaster blew by over his head.

He tugged on his mother's skirt, pointing up at it. "What's making it stay on those tracks?"

"Watch it, kid!" A gruff voice shot back down at him, and the little kit let go of what he thought was his mother's skirt. Ratchet looked up, his jaw dropping as he saw the man's face above him scowling down. Almost as suddenly, however, the man smiled, his eyes aglitter as he looked down at Ratchet. "What's your name, kiddo?"

Ratchet blinked, his mouth snapping shut. He wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, and he wasn't even sure he was supposed to even tell the strangers he wasn't allowed to talk to them. He suddenly remembered his rock candy, though, and stuck it in his mouth, as though trying to make it clear he wasn't about to speak.

"Come on, I know you can talk . . . say, you really like that rock candy, don't ya?" The older man spoke, smiling at him still. Something about that smile didn't sit right with Ratchet — it reminded him of the sort of smile he'd have when he was about to eat.

Ratchet blinked, then hid the wand behind his back, thinking the man might take it. "Yeah . . ."

"Aw, come on, kid, I'm not gonna take your stick . . ." The man kneeled down, reaching out to take hold of Ratchet's arm and gently nudge the stick back into place, letting it rest near Ratchet's mouth. "It's a simple question. You like having questions answered, right?"

Ratchet paused again, still confused, and still not really wanting to talk. This man felt happy. Maybe even a little too happy. "Yeah . . ."

"So if it's good to have questions answered, then it must be good to answer other people's questions too, right?"

Ratchet's eyes were scanning out now, looking for his Eema. He didn't know this guy, but he knew a leading question when he heard one. "Yeah . . ."

The man pressed on, picking the boy off the ground, causing Ratchet's eyes to go wide. He didn't carry Ratchet like his mother did — both of the man's hands were down around Ratchet's hips. "So then you should answer all my questions, right?"

"Hey, bucko. Does that kid _look _like he's yours?"

Both Ratchet and the stranger turned momentarily to see the calico woman glaring, with crossed arms. The stranger narrowed his eyes. "Mind your business."

"I'll mind whatever I want to mind. And I'm minding you." The woman spoke again, stepping forward with a metal screech in her step. "Now why are you giving me such trouble if you're not causing it?"

The next instant, Ratchet screamed as the man punched her, before darting off in another direction with Ratchet still in his arms. The little Lombax didn't know what was going on — but getting carted off couldn't have been good! "EEMA! _**EE-**_M-!"

"Shut up, kid!" The man hissed again, and suddenly Ratchet felt claws around his neck. "Shut up NOW if you know what's good for you!"

Ratchet froze in fear, seeing a new face on the man — he still had that dinnertime smile on his face, but his eyes were lit up with an evil glimmer, as though there were flames within them. Whatever this man wanted, it wasn't to be friends.

The man kept running, jumping half down a flight of stairs as he made his way to just below the docks, near where there were boats parked. "Almost there . . . I can almost taste you . . ."

Ratchet's eyes went wide, still too scared to scream.

It was a minor miracle he wasn't too scared to bite the man's hand and get a taste for _himself_.

"AGH! You little . . . " The man yelped, loosening his grip just enough for Ratchet to kick and launch himself out of the man's arms, tumbling onto the docks, scrambling to his feet. "Oh, I'm gonna take my time with you, brat . . ."

"Get away from me!" Ratchet screamed, running to put more distance between him and the man. He was running up a storm, but the fact remained that the docks dead-ended just ahead of him.

"I don't think so, kid. You should've just been a good boy . . . It'd hurt so much less than it's going to now . . ." The man spoke, picking up a nearby coil of rope from someone's tie-off. "Better say your Sh'ma now, 'cause your voice won't work after-!"

He didn't have a chance to finish that sentence as a dark mass of black and glowing blue leapt out of the water, blindsiding the stranger. His head hit one of the pylons with a sick thud, and just like that, he went still. Ratchet's eyes went wide, not knowing what to make of this odd, metal-tailed monster . . . or at least he didn't know until he saw the monster remove its helmet, and he saw the face of the calico woman again.

She glanced over, motioning with her flipper-glove for Ratchet to come closer. "Kit . . . it's okay, kitten. He's not getting up anytime soon."

Ratchet looked down at the man, fearful. "But he . . . Eema . . ."

"Shh. Don't worry, I'm one of the good guys." She spoke, before cocking her head and adding on, "Well, better than him, at least. I work for the Boardwalk."

Ratchet was still scared, and now noticing that he'd torn his outfit. He clutched at it, freaking out. " . . . I don't believe you."

"Kit, if you don't believe me, just check the signs." She spoke, before pointing with another mechanized flipper up to a poster.

Ratchet hesitated, staying still and only moving his eyes to notice the nearby posters for Captain Hook's Boardwalk. His eyes soon gravitated to the sight of an illuminated lady just beneath the water, grinning behind her helmet. The text underneath was as plain as day: 'The Mermaid of Veldin — She's Back and Better than Ever!'.

He turned, almost in disbelief. The lady certainly looked like the one on the poster . . . it was dark, but he saw the resemblance. "No way . . ."

"Relax, kitten." She purred, rolling onto her side so Ratchet could see the lit parts of her mermaid outfit better. "Let me take you up to the Staff's Daycare so you can spend a little time with my daughters while I go find your Eema, okay?"

Ratchet was nervous, and understandably so, but at least this woman seemed genuinely concerned. And besides, it couldn't be any worse than what the last man wanted. " . . . okay."

"Excellent. Let's go somewhere safe, then; the police'll be here to pick up your 'pal' shortly, but before then, I want to get you someplace where they can make sure you're okay." She spoke, her mertail receding just enough for her to be able to walk again, albeit in metallic legs. "My name's Merry. What's your name?"

He curled up, still scared. " . . . Ratchet."

"Ratchet? Cool!" She smiled, scratching him behind an ear as she walked. "I've got a daughter named that! Well . . . not exactly. But close. Real close."

The little kitten blinked, confused. "Really? What's her name?"

She chuckled. "Well . . . I've got two daughters, actually. I just came back here after giving birth to little Sudoku." She smiled, holding Ratchet close, even as he tried to curl up against her metallic halter. "But I know you should get along great with the other one. Jigsaw's always willing to put on a show."


End file.
